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I don’t know if readers know how inspirational this is to a writer, knowing that there is someone out there that likes your writing so much that they want to be notified when you have something new to say… well… and to have over 500 followers that believe that… it’s awesome.

I am humbled and a little in shock by this attention. This is a great milestone for me, my writing, and my site and I really appreciate it.

Wow! Seriously, I am really overwhelmed by this. Writing is such a lonely business, so to know that there are people out there that not only enjoy your work, but also like it enough to subscribe. Well, that is just breathtaking.

Thank you! Your support truly inspires me.

Other than my 402 followers, I recently passed 40,000 views on my site and my Twitter followers just exceeded 14,000. So 4 seems to be the theme for the day for me.

(Oh, and did you know you can now subscribe to my site for your kindle? I kid you not! You can learn more on amazon here.)

The next month is truly going to be a big one for me as a writer.

A Jane Austen Daydream is set for publication by Madison Street Publishing in April. It is in editing right now and I can’t wait for you to read it. If you would like to learn more about the work, read an excerpt and see the new cover, please visit The Jane Austen Centre’s website here.

Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is also in editing, where I am working with the editor, Rebecca T. Dickson (you can visit her site and learn more about her services here). It is going very well. I don’t know the timeframe on this yet, but I do hope to have the book out some time in the spring.

Permanent Spring Showers, my last novel, is still currently up on this site here if you want to read it. However, once Max and Jane have left home, I plan to begin editing the book and it will be taken down. My hope is to find a publisher for it.

So, along with this blog, this is a busy writing time. Hopefully, I can keep generating material that brings you back.

I know we are not at the end of the year yet but I couldn’t wait. Yes, I am the kid on Christmas Eve wanting to open all of the presents early. And. let’s be honest, every blogger or writing site is going to be a doing a post like this. Why not be ahead of the curve?

So that’s me- Mr. Ahead of the Curve.

Before I get to my favorite posts, let me begin by saying how much I got a kick out of running this site this year. As a writer it has been very satisfying. Over the course of one year, I went from zero followers to 213 with over 25000 views this year alone. That is pretty awesome in my book, and just as satisfying this blog gave something back to me as a writer.

I was able to share fiction; things I have cared about that have been collecting dust around my house (and in my brain). The Dante Experience radio series is once again available to listen to, along with the unproduced scripts of the sequel.

A lot of what drives me and this site right now are you the readers. I know people say things like that all the time, but I am being very honest. You have no idea how powerful a like and a comment can be in spurring me forward, inspiring me. I might have abandoned this months ago if it wasn’t for the numbers and the responses. So this year, I am the most thankful for you the readers.

Blogs are always started with the best intention. A writer feels they have something to share, something that could enrich a reader out there in the stratosphere of the internet.

The funny thing is you see this a lot around the newly published, both self-published and professionally published. Did I say “a lot” in that last sentence? Good, because I meant to say “a lot.” And usually on these newly minted blogs there will be a few posts about their book, their experience writing it, and a few helpful suggestions and then… nothing. The internet is littered with the remains of these kinds of websites, something akin to a field after a rock concert. The party is done, but no one bothered to clean up the mess from the show.

Frankly, what the beginning blogger doesn’t realize is that it takes guts and stamina to write a true blog and to build a readership for it. A blog is more than a marketing tool, it is a new writing platform (and in my opinion could become its own powerful writing medium right alongside writing for plays, books, television, etc.), and if you don’t see it as such, you won’t be able to use it to its full potential. Yes, you can fill it up with advice and your opinion, but for people to come back again and again, there has to be something in your blog that is not available anywhere else on the internet…

One of the wonderful surprises I never considered before starting this blog up in January was the collecting of followers.

(For those that are not in the know, you can become a follower of a site/blog like this by adding your e-mail into the box on the left above the “Good Reads” option, and below the “other Sites of Interest.” You will get an e-mail each time an article is posted, or if you are a member of WordPress you can catch up on the blogs you follow via your own main WordPress login page.)

Since January, I have collected 97 followers, and it is… okay this may sound like an everyday adjective but truly I mean it when I say it is “awesome.”

So why is this so much fun for me, my followers? Because frankly how diverse all of you are and how cool and passionate each of you are about your own interests.

I check out my followers’ sites from time to time and I have everything from musicians to dancers to photographers to writers (fiction to nonfiction) to fellow hip parents to even one person who is checking off the points on her bucket list.

Yes, when I have free time, I occasionally visit each of your sites, wondering what is going on, happy to know that this person enjoys my writing. You guys help the old ego in a major way!

Anyway, to celebrate the fact I am almost at 100, I thought it might be fun to have a post like this… Consider it a cyber “meet and greet.”

Let’s do it like this: In the comments section below, if you want, leave a comment and description about your own site (if you have one), introduce yourself to the other followers and readers (who knows? other followers might join your site as well). Share with us your dream for your own site. I would love to hear from you.